RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas Tuesday said an Israeli government decision to allow "Jewish extremists" to enter Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound was a recipe for violence.

"This inciteful policy is a recipe for friction and violence," a statement from Abbas said.

"We all know the consequences of such action from previous incidents in 2000," he added.

The Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupted in September 2000 following a controversial visit to the mosque compound by the then Israeli opposition leader and now prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

"At a time when efforts are channeled to contain a security crisis and return to calm, the Israeli government is igniting the most sensitive issue in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the Abbas statement added.

The compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, is both the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred spot in Judaism.

Israeli authorities reopened the compound to Israeli and foreign tourists last week despite opposition from the Waqf, the Muslim authority in charge of the site.

The reopening of the compound to non-Muslims followed a police decision late last month to suspend such visits, which had resumed only a few weeks earlier for the first time since the beginning of the intifada.

An age limit was also slapped on Muslims praying at the compound in the aftermath of the intifada, to avoid demonstrations by young activists. A statement by the Palestinian leadership in July said visits by non-Muslims "risk sparking an explosion."

The Waqf have been in favor of reopening the site in order to boost the struggling tourism industry in Jerusalem's Old City but said the Israeli government should not take a unilateral decision.

Israeli police Tuesday briefly detained a Waqf official and two guards accusing them of trying to prevent visits by non-Muslims to the site a day earlier.

The three Palestinians were later released without charges, a police spokesman said.